Doctors demand jabs for babies in TB war

Doctors are calling for mass tuberculosis vaccinations for babies to fight Britain's Third World levels of the deadly disease.

Lung specialists meeting at the British Medical Association in London yesterday warned that TB is running out of control in the UK.

Cases of the disease in some parts of the country have reached levels at which the World Health Organisation recommends mass vaccination of infants.

In areas of London - the TB capital of Western Europe - rates exceed those in India.

Paediatric infectious diseases expert Dr Delane Shingardia, of Barts and the London NHS Trust, said parents in London and other major cities should be routinely offered TB vaccinations for their babies.

Dr Shingardia said: 'We are seeing more young babies and children infected with TB than before and this is very worrying.

'Children develop TB more rapidly than adults and may suffer more serious complications.'

As well as damaging the lungs, TB can cause a form of meningitis, blood poisoning and harm vital organs.

Up to 300 cases among babies and children under 14 are treated each year in Britain.

The Department of Health's policy is to vaccinate babies only if they are exposed to TB through a family member or a high-risk country.

However, a number of London boroughs with high TB rates have chosen to offer the jab to all newborn babies. The boroughs of Brent, Haringey, Hackney and Tower Hamlets are TB hotspots.

The highest TB rates are in Newham, which has 200 cases per 100,000 people - a higher rate than India's.

The WHO's ceiling for mass vaccination of infants is 40 cases per 100,000.

Doctors have called for more Government action on TB, which is back to 1970s levels with almost 7,000 cases diagnosed in Britain last year

An estimated 400 people in the UK die from the disease each year.

Lung specialists have suggested the return of sanatoriums to keep sufferers away from the rest of the community and ensure they follow treatment plans.

The Department of Health is expected to unveil an action plan on TB before the end of the year.

But the Government's vaccination programme is in crisis after BCG jabs supplied by Labour donor Paul

Drayson's PowderJect firm had to be withdrawn.

The schools programme, due to begin vaccinating 500,000 teenagers next month, has been shelved until the New Year.

Another contract has been signed with Danish firm Statens Serum Institut but no supplies are available yet. A Department of Health spokesman said: 'BCG vaccine is just one component in our strategy to combat TB.'

He added: 'The most important element of TB control is diagnosing and treating the disease.'